1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to an automotive manual transmission which is particularly adaptable for use in a front-wheel-drive automotive vehicle having a transversely mounted engine, and more particularly to a select detent mechanism of such transmission, which functions to give a shift lever operator (driver) a detent feeling when he or she carries out a selecting operation with the shift lever.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The transmission of the type mentioned above is so constructed that a control rod actuated by a manual shift lever in a vehicle cabin extends perpendicular to a fork shaft on and along which shift forks are movable, and a speed change is established by effecting a selecting operation with rotational movement of the control rod about the axis thereof and then effecting a shifting operation with axial movement of the rod along the axis thereof. In order to make the shift lever operator (driver) sensitively know which selecting position is taken by the selecting operation, a so-called select detent mechanism is usually employed in the transmission, which functions to give the operator a detent feeling when he or she carries out a selecting operation with the shift lever.
Usually, the conventional select detent mechanisms have a construction which comprises a cam surface (or notched surface) formed on the control rod per se or some member rotatable with the control rod, and a spring-biased detent ball device mounted to the transmission housing with the detent ball abutting against the cam surface. However, this construction has several drawbacks, one of which is that positioning of the detent ball device on the transmission housing relative to the cam surface is difficult, so that it sometimes becomes necessary to readjust the position of the detent ball device after mounting it to the transmission housing. In fact, it is difficult to provide the transmission housing with a mounting site or area which requires preciseness in positioning.